Sight for firearms.



- Patented Apr. 9, 190i. J. J. PEARD.

SIGHT FOR FIREARMS.

(Applicatibn filed June 23, 1900 (No Model.)

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Y E Noam: virus 00. PNOTO-UYNQ. WASHI UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

.JAMES J. PEARD, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO COLTS PATENT FIRE-ARMS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SIGHT FOR FIREARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 671,609, dated April 9, 1901.

Application filed June 23, 1900. Serial No. 21,321. (No model.)

To a whom, at may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES J. PEARD, acitizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Sight for Firearms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of sights for firearms known as open sights, and particularly to sights of this class intended for use in target practice with pistols, revolvers, and similarsmall arms where the range or distance to the target, the kind and quality of ammunition used, the strength and the direction of the Wind, and the personal habits of the marksmen in holding the arm and in sighting it come into consideration and require varying and minute adjustments of the sights.

The objects of my improvements are to afford facilities for the lateral and the vertical adjustment of the sights, to provide simple and con venient means for securing the sights in position after adjustment, and to provide means for readily indicating the positions of the sights in respect to the axis of the barrel ofthe firearm. I attain these objects by a novel form of front sight, which is vertically adjustable and operates in conjunction with a laterally-adjustable rear sight and by the construction of parts hereinafter fully .described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is a side elevation of a f Colt target-revolver fitted with my improved sights. Fig. 11 is a top view of the same. Fig. III shows in three detailed views,on a larger scale, the rear sight, respectively at l a top view, at 2 a side view, and at 3 a vertical transverse section through a part of the top of the revolver-frame, showing a rear View of the rear sight and means for adjusting and securing the same. Fig. IV shows in three detailed views, on a larger scale, the front sight, respectively at 4 a rear view, at 5 a side view, the right-hand side of the sight-base having been removed to show the lower portion'of the front sight and the means for its attachment, for its adjustment, and for securing the sight after adjustment, and at 6 a front view of the front sight.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, a denotes the frame and b the barrel, of the pistol. Near the muzzle upon the barrel a lump 0 serves as the base for the front sight 01, being divided in two parts by a vertical longitudinal groove, in which the front sight is fitted to stand in the vertical plane through the axis of the barrel. The portion of the front sight projecting above the base may be of any suitable form and is shown as having convergent sides, finished at the top in a cone, which, seen from the rear, presents a bead-like appearance.

The sight d is pivotally attached to the sight-base c by a small transverse pin 6, extending at the lower forward corner through the base and the sight. By this location of the pivot the head at the upper rear extremity of the sight is at the greatest radial distance from the pivot, and therefore the movement of the sight is greatest at this bead. The lower edge of the sightjhas a partiallycircular recess and carries a small fiat spring f, which tends to hold the sight est position.

. On the front side of the sight-base, at a point slightly above the pivot e, a screw g, of somewhat larger diameter than the width of the central groove, is fitted to the base 0, a sufficient segment of the screw-thread for the support of the screw g being out into the interior surface of each half of the base. A rectangular recess in the front of the sight is provided for the reception of the screw g, and the end of the screw bears against the end of this recess in the sight above the pivot. Turning the screw 9 in one direction (rearward) depresses the sight d, while turning it in the opposite direction allows the springf to elevate the sight.

To firmly secure the sight after its adjustment against displacement, a set-screw his fitted transversely through one side of the sight-base 0, serving at will to clamp the sight against the opposite side of the base.

In Fig. I the front sight dis represented as elevated to its highest position, while in Fig.

in the high- IV it is shown as depressed to its lowest position, the dotted lines indicating the amount of elevation which it may receive.

The taper of the cone-shaped top of the sight and the inclined lines of its junction with the convergent sides are so arranged that at the minimum elevation the top of the sight is substantially parallel to the axis of the barrel, while at the maximum elevation the lines of the junction of the cone with the sides of the sight are parallel to the barrels axis. By this construction the best results in sighting are obtained, as distortion by parallax is prevented, and instead of appearing in multiple and colored lines the rear side of the cone (the bead) will always appear sharp and clear.

In the rear side of the sight-base, near the top, a line has been engraved at right angles to the central groove, and a series of similar lines has been engraved in the lower part of the rear side of the sight. These lines are so arranged that the topmost line on the sight corresponds with the line on the base when the sight is fully depressed, and the lowest line on the sight similarly corresponds with the line on the base when the sight is fully elevated. Thus these lines serve as a graduated index of the elevation of the front sight. (See Fig. IV, 4.)

While my improved front sight may be used with any open rear sight, I have represented in the drawings a form of rear sight especially adapted for use with it. The rear sight consists in a slide t', the base of which is dovetailed and is movably fitted in a correspondingly-dovetailed transverse groove in the top of the pistol-frame forward of the hammer. From the sight-base, near its rear edge, projects upward a rib, in which the central sighting-notch is-cut. To move the rear sight for lateral adjustment and to secure it in place after adjustment, the screwj is fitted in a hole transversely through the frame of the pistol just below the sight-base. (See Fig. III.) The small end and the central threaded portion of the screwj are entirely enveloped by the frame, the central portion of the hole being correspondingly threaded; but the head of the screwj and a collarj on it between the head and the thread are of so large a diameter that segments of the head and of the collar project upward into the seat of the rear sight. In the under side of the sight-base corresponding segmental recesses are cut for the reception of these projecting portions of the screw-head and collar and serve to interlock the sight with the screw. Turning the screw in one direction (inward) carries the rear sight to the left side and turning the screw in the opposite direction (outward) moves the sight to the right side. In all positions the interlocking connection between the screw and the sight serves to securely hold the sight in place unless the screw is turned.

In the top of the frame forward of the seat of the rear sight a series of longitudinal lines have been engraved, and in the sight a corresponding central line has been engraved. These lines serve as a graduated index of the lateral position of the rear sight.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a sight for firearms, of a base to which said sight is pivoted and a screw carried by said base and bearing against said sight to determine the elevation thereof.

2. The combination with a sight for firearms, of a base to which said sight is pivoted at one end, a spring acting to raise the other end of the sight, and a screw carried by said base and bearing against said sight to limit the movement thereof by said spring.

3. The combination with the barrel of a firearm, of a rear sight, a base for said rear sight, at front-sight base, a front sight pivoted in said front-sight base, means to adjust said front sight vertically, and means to adjust said rear-sight base laterally.

4. The combination with a sight for firearms, of a base to which said sight is pivoted at one end, a spring acting to raise the other end of the sight, a screw carried by said base and bearing endwise against said sight to limit the movement thereof by said spring, and a screw carried by said base and bearing transversely against said sight to prevent movement thereof.

5. The combination with a sight for firearms, of a base to which said sight is pivoted at one end, means to raise the free end of said sight, a screw carried by said base and bearing against said sight to limit the movement thereof, and a graduated index upon the free end of saidsight and upon said sight-base for indicating the elevation of said sight.

This specification signed and witnessed this 21st day of June, A. D. 1900.

I JAMES J. PEARD. In presence of O. J. EHBETS, R. L. PEARD. 

